Potted Christmas tree advice needed

Hi
I bought a potted tree this year.
I put it outside still in it's pot mid Jan this year.
Now the problem; the branches look like they are dying. It's not dropping it's pines yet.
The underneath is still green.
Is this still alive or is it a lost cause...
Help x x

 

Welcome to GC Katiet79. You say the branches look like they're dying, in what way please? You have also said it's not dropping its pines, do you mean needles or cones?

 

I bought a potted christmas tree too and the needles of my tree are starting to drop

 

If you have had in the house in the warm which they totally dislike as its just not natural for them and have let them dry out , then you put it outside in the freezing cold , they drop needles and a 70% chance that they dont survive , it would be more ideal to keep in the greenhouse or a very sheltered part of the garden until spring has sprung

 

My tree was kept outside the whole time over the festive period spruce..Does that mean its dying

 

was it dug up and re-potted on when you bought it ?

 

I bought it from tesco's Spruce and it was in a pot and its in a bag in the pot

 

Hi all,
Thanks Sheal x

The needles look like they are almost bleaching in colour(they've turned a light rust colour), but are not dropping
I bought from Waitrose, the roots were pretty tight when I repotted last week.
My tree was also in a bag and pot like Autumn Bliss's

 

When you buy a "potted" tree its not always as simple as it seems, there are 3 distinct methods of doing this:

• Pot grown (out of the ground), these are grown in a large pot from a seedling like any other plant in a pot, they form a full and intact root ball. These have the best chance of survival, but are also the most expensive.
• Pot grown ( in the ground), started off as above but the pots are sunk in the ground and left for x amount of years, they are then lifted for Christmas and any roots on the outside of the pot cut off leaving the roots in the pot intact. These have a reasonable chance of survival if there are plenty of fibrous roots in the pots.
• Pot pressed are trees that are grown in the ground, lifted with machinery and pressed into pots, these suffer the most root damage and whilst not impossible they have the least chance of survival.

A lot will also depend on species, Firs such as Nordmans are the hardest to keep alive, whilst Spruces are easier.

I have kept Nordmans alive and have one in the garden now from Christmas 2013, this year we had a Frasier Fir which is still completely green , this was a tree pot grown in the ground.

If yours are starting to go a rusty colour its not a good sign unfortunately, all I can suggest is give it a good soak and keep out of drying winds, perhaps even wrap in fleece even if there's no frost.

A general rule of thumb for potted Christmas trees is if they're still green by May then you've cracked it and they've survived

Good luck

 

Thanks Bilbo, I'll come back in May and let you know how I get on x x

 

Something of an update on my own Christmas trees that I saved, the Nordman has a full flush of new growth and the trickier Frasier fir is also showing signs of new growth - happy days

 

Good save Bilbo it'll be off like a rocket